RitaWilson Tagged Articles at Cinematical
News Bites: Jennifer Love and Jamie Grab Coffee and Rita Wilson's 'Embarrassment'
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Independent », Casting », Deals », Scripts »
Could Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jamie Kennedy be the next IT couple? Probably not, but that's not stopping them from bringing their romance to the big screen. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Hewitt and Kennedy are going to star in a new indie drama called Cafe from writer/director Marc Erlbaum. Hewitt will play an employee at the local West Philly Grounds coffee shop where Alexa Vega and other ensemble members stop by for a cup.Already, "indie drama" separates this project from the likes of Kennedy's supremely cringe-worthy feature work, so I can't help but wonder: Is Jennifer the muse that will wipe away our reservations and give Jamie work more worthy of his post-Randy Meeks life?
Meanwhile, Rita Wilson is gearing up to write a new college comedy, according to Variety. Not only that -- she's going to star. Look out Rodney Dangerfield, Rita's going back to school. Titled Terms of Embarrassment, the film will focus on a middle-aged couple who end up attending the same college as their son.
Maybe I'm just being influenced by the other news bite here, but could this possibly be a film that will reunite her with hubbie Tom Hanks on the big screen? The pair haven't appeared together in a film since the '90s, and never one where they were the focus.
News Bites: Sarah Jessica Parker Gets a New Assistant & Rita Wilson Befriends Meryl Streep
Filed under: Comedy », Romance », Casting »
Here are some romcom news bites for your Monday:Move over, Jennifer Hudson! Just last year, Sarah Jessica Parker had a romantic assistant who passworded all of her love letters with "love." Now THR reports that the Sex and the City star is getting a new assistant for her upcoming romcom Did You Hear About the Morgans? (The same project I mentioned here.) The assistant in question: Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss. But unlike her meek television personality, Moss will get to be a "controlling and almost obsessive-compulsive personality" -- which must get set off when her boss is shoved into witness protection.
Anyhow, it's about time she got a mainstream gig! Moss has had some other big feature work like Girl, Interrupted (she played Polly, the burned girl) and Virgin, which got her an Independent Spirit nomination, but it's been all television and low-buz gigs these days. It might be a romcom, but at least she won't have to be all soft and sweet this time around.
Meanwhile, the untitled Nancy Meyers pic is quickly turning into a who's who of the older funny set. Last we heard, the film boasted the likes of Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin. Now THR reports that Rita Wilson has been added into the mix, to play one of Streep's best friends. This definitely sounds like an improvement from Old Dogs for Wilson. And I can't help but hope: Who could be next? Teri Garr? Martin Short? Or, I cherish the thought -- Wilson's hubby Tom Hanks putting on his comedic hat once again?
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'My Life in Ruins' Sets May Release Date, Opposite 'Star Trek'
Filed under: Comedy », Drama », Romance », Box Office », Distribution », Newsstand »
Cinematical has just been informed that Nia Vardalos' My Life in Ruins has scheduled a May 8, 2009 release date, which, so far, puts it opposite Star Trek as the weekend's only other wide release. And yes, we're told it will be a wide release, and that a brand, spanky new trailer will arrive soon (pay no attention to the one leaked online earlier in the month). Produced by Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Ruins stars Nia Vardalos as she returns to her Greek roots (and to the country itself) as a tour guide who discovers her romantic side while showing a ragtag group of tourists around. Directed by Donald Petrie (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days), Richard Dreyfuss and Rachel Dratch also star.Fox Searchlight must have a good feeling about this flick if they're throwing it out right at the beginning of the summer -- and opposite the giganto Star Trek -- though the film's low-key vibes and romantic scenery will counter the ridiculous Trekker fanboy-ish quite well. Will My Life in Ruins bring Vardalos some more big, fat Greek luck? We shall see ...
My Big Fat Greek Lawsuit
Filed under: Comedy », Celebrities and Controversy », Box Office »
Earlier this year, the film world was buzzing about Peter Jackson's lawsuit against New Line for unpaid cash from the huge Lord of the Rings series. Jackson and Bob Shaye batted back and forth for a while, and then the story faded into the ether. Now we've got a new lawsuit to chew on, but this one took a few years to come together. Word has it that Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson and Nia Vardalos have come together to sue one of the producers of their huge hit, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, for owed profits. The suit is asking for full accounting for the film's profits and unspecified damages for the trio, because "The accounting statements rendered by defendants have been vague and inadequate in failing to provide information consistent with industry standards." (Gotta love legal talk!)As we know, Vardalos wrote and starred in the movie, while couple Hanks and Wilson produced it along with Gary Goetzman. They claim that they are still owed their "share of net profits" -- the lawsuit says that the movie cost $5 mil, we know that the film grossed well over $350 million and they say that Gold Circle Films claims that the gross receipts total $287 million. That's a bit of a discrepancy. Of course, the company is saying that the suit is bull, or rather, "frivolous" and "completely without merit." If they get anywhere with this case, the cash will be awfully handy, since they're coming together again for Vardalos' next project -- My Life in Ruins.
Review: The Chumscrubber
Filed under: Drama », Independent », New Releases », Sundance », Newmarket », Theatrical Reviews », Cinematical Indie »
Okay, now I'm convinced that many of the critics whose reviews count over at Rotten Tomatoes are secretly Pod People. That's the only way I can think of to explain how The Chumscrubber has a 32% rating over there, while Broken Flowers has an 87%. I saw both of these movies, and I'll tell you right now, one of them? Not nearly as great as its been touted to be. And the other? Much, much better than a lot of critics are giving it credit for.
The Chumscrubber is not your typical teen film. It tackles complex social issues without being condescending; it somehow manages to walk the line between drama and dark satiric comedy without being trite, cutesy, or quirky for the sake of quirkiness (an annoying trend which I'm seeing more and more with indie films lately).
This was a fabulously layered movie about the isolating loneliness of a self-medicated society, a world where everyone walks around in a solipsitic bubble, lightly bumping into each other rather than really interacting. On the surface, The Chumscrubber might appear to be just your average indie satire of suburban society, but there is much more to this movie than that.
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